India has talent for industrial AI and semicon, says Dassault Systemes' Elisa Prisner
Industrial AI must understand real-world physics, not just chat or content generation
Dassault Systemes explores semiconductor Centre of Excellence in India
Talent with high-tech manufacturing skills is key for India's chip ambitions
We have all experienced AI bots inside browser windows and smartphone apps that answer questions, write emails, even create images and videos. But GenAI being deployed on the factory floor or inside a fab doesn’t quite behave the same way.
"For us, industrial AI isn’t about having a chatbot,” says Elisa Prisner, Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Platform Transformation at Dassault Systemes. “For us, industrial AI is something that understands physics, materials, and regulations. And it has to be built on science, it has to understand the physical world," she emphasises. Having spent over 13 years at the French 3D design and simulation powerhouse, Prisner’s definition of AI is refreshingly unglamorous.
Dassault Systemes’ AI story didn’t begin with LLMs, it started with 3D, then PLM (product lifecycle management), and now to virtual twins – which is in the DNA of the company, Prisner tells me.
"Virtual twin isn’t a simple digital replica. Virtual twins already understand the physical behaviours, why things are built this way and what can happen. When you add AI on top of this, it opens up an infinite range of possibilities to explore."
Centre of excellence for semiconductor ecosystem
Nowhere are these possibilities worth exploring more in India right now than in the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. Dassault wants to redouble its efforts in this arena – not by building fabs, but by helping build the people and processes that will power this industry at scale.
How exactly you may ask? Prisner tells me that Dassault Systemes is already engaging with Indian institutions through a Semiconductor Centre of Excellence. This model has been successful in other geographies where the company operates, according to Prisner.
"Why a Centre of Excellence? Because you already have skilled students, because you have the workforce here in India, and because we can bring them the knowledge of virtualizing this area for our customers in the semiconductor ecosystem," Prisner underscores.
"Semiconductors can be defence, it can be space, telecommunications and automotive, all those kinds of key topics that are important for India. And, I think, this is where we can lead with India first, and take it to the rest of the world," says Prisner.
With chips and AI now becoming matters of national security and a highly-valued supply chain, Prisner also flags sovereignty as an important consideration in the Indian high-tech manufacturing ecosystem. "How do we co-create with our clients, selecting the right partners, and keeping this in a trustable environment? This is where sovereignty becomes key, as we continue to grow in India with our customers."
Solving for the high-skilled talent bottleneck in India
For all the investments and announcements at ISM 2.0, India's semiconductor aspirations depend squarely on people and their level of skill as a workforce. Prisner doesn't sugarcoat what’s at stake here.
"Semiconductor fabs and equipment needed to manufacture won't happen without talented people, without skills. So even to answer the ISM 2.0, I mean, this won't happen if you don't have this talent, and still it is a bottleneck."
Her solution is similar to Dassault Systeme's work in the US, where it partnered with Purdue University and Lam Research on virtual twin-based semiconductor training. "I think we need to partner more and more as an ecosystem, where we gather not only private companies, but also institutions and students, which is key," suggests Prisner.
Prisner sees India's young engineers – who are almost born AI-native – as a key advantage. "Representing things and using AI, that is not the hardest part for young graduates entering the workforce today. And we are investing in training them on our platforms already. As you may well know, here in India we have our second biggest R&D centre after our headquarters in Paris. It's not by accident," Prisner says confidently.
Indian talent is capable, but they need knowledge
I remind Prisner of an old stereotype, of how India is great at writing code and building SaaS companies in the enterprise, but not as great at building hardware products at scale – stuff that millions can touch and feel. Prisner outright rejects the insinuation in her response.
"If you look at many leaders in India, in the industry, they are building massive new products. They are embedding early technologies. So to me, yes, this shift has well and truly begun many years ago. And it’s not fair to characterise India as only a software powerhouse," proclaims Prisner.
Which brings us back to AI, and the doom and gloom surrounding it all – especially on social media. It all comes down to intent, according to Prisner. "I think for any new technology, the way you use it has to be grounded, has to be ruled somehow. Because you can always try to derail the initial intent."
Prisner suggests that for Dassault Systemes, that intent is all about industry in service of society. Once you’re clear on that, then "AI is an accelerator," she says. "AI will also help in capitalizing and capturing what's in the experts' minds, to treasure this knowledge and know-how, which is a tricky part right now. Experts retire, you lose the knowledge. AI can help us in this domain," according to Prisner.
That’s some serious food for thought. For a country racing to build fabs and AI infrastructure with a young workforce, knowledge capture and transfer is crucial. If industrial AI can help distill decades of expertise to power India's next generation of engineers, the leap from software powerhouse to product nation won’t be decades away after all.